Neptune businessman loses almost everything to Sandy

Businessman loses almost everything

Nov. 8, 2012

John Wehrle, owner of Stumpy's Yamaha dealership on Route 35, gets a hug from his daughter, Marika, 19. The business sustained an estimated $1 million in damaged or destroyed inventory in superstorm Sandy. / Shannon Mullen/Staff

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NEPTUNE — The past week has been one wild, heart-thumping ride for the operators of Stumpy’s Yahama.

First came Sandy. John Wehrle, who owns the motorcycle and water craft dealership with his mother, Evelyn Stumpf, spent the night of the storm at his home in Toms River glued to the live video surveillance feed of the Route 35 property, located just blocks from the Shark River Inlet.

Wehrle’s late stepfather, John “Stumpy” Stumpf, opened the dealership there in 1962. Prior to Sandy, it hadn’t flooded from a storm surge once in 50 years, Wehrle said. But Wehrle had good reason to fret that night. With business slack and premiums rising, his mother, 77, who lives in a house behind the dealership, opted not to renew the $13,000-a-year flood insurance on the building this year.

It was a diastrously bad bet, as it turned out. But the last Wehrle saw before his cable service cut out about 7:30 p.m., in the midst of high tide, everything looked fine. No flooding, no broken windows, no obvious damage. Believing the worst was over, Wehrle and his family even dared to celebrate with wine and cheese.

In the midst of the party, the phone rang. It was a neighbor of his mother’s. The whole area, the neighbor said, was under at least five feet of water.

The next day, Wehrle discovered that the dealership was a mud-caked shambles. At least $1 million worth of merchandise was destroyed or severely damaged, he estimated.

That was the first, and most severe, jolt. Then, one week later, came another scare.

Wehrle and his mother knew they weren’t covered for flood damage to the building. But the building was still standing, at least, and they took solace that they still had flood coverage for the inventory — after a $2,500 deductible on each vehicle.

That wouldn’t help replace a $1,000 scooter, of course. But it might allow them to recoup enough on some of the more expensive merchandise to stay in business, they hoped. Some of Stumpy’s ATVs sell for up to $14,000, while jet boats can run as high as $40,000, Wehrle said.

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An adjuster promptly arrived to assess the damage. Meanwhile, Wehrle and his family and a handful of employees did what they could to clean the place up. On Monday, a cacophony of electric screwdrivers, fans and an industrial dryer as red hot and loud as a jet engine filled the still-soggy showroom. Amid the din, Wehrle’s 19-year-old daughter, Marika, worked in the water-logged office, quietly drying a stack of drenched titles of ownership with a steam iron, one by one.

“This is actually nice compared to what was here,” she said of the mess surrounding her.